Answers

Over the course of time, these contrived doctrines have had
widespread effect. But in the early days it took rather more to
cement the ideas because the original women of the Nazarene mission
had a significant following in the Celtic Church. These included Mary
Magdalene, Martha, Mary-Jacob Cleophas and Helena-Salome, each of
whom had run schools and social missions throughout the Mediterranean
world. These women had all been disciples of Jesus and close friends
of his mother, accompanying her to the Crucifixion, as confirmed in
the Gospels.

In the face of such records, the Church's only salvation was to
denigrate women altogether; to deny them not only rights to
ecclesiastical office, but to deny them rights to any status in
society. Hence, the Church declared that women were all heretics and
sorceresses!

In this, the bishops were aided by the words of Peter and Paul, and
on the basis of their teachings the Roman Church was enabled to
become wholly sexist. In his first Epistle to Timothy, Paul wrote: 'I
suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp any authority over the man,
but to be in silence'. In the Gospel of Philip, Peter is quoted as
saying that 'Women are not worthy of life'. The bishops even quoted
the words of Genesis, wherein God apparently spoke to Eve about Adam,
saying 'He shall rule over thee'.

The Church Father Tertullian summed up the whole Roman attitude when
writing about the emergent disciples of Mary Magdalene: 'These
heretical woman! How dare they! They are brazen enough to teach, to
engage in argument, to baptise. It is not permitted for a woman to
speak in church, nor to claim a share in any masculine function -
least of all in priestly office'.

Then, to cap it all, came the Roman Church's most amazing document,
The Apostolic Order. This was compiled as an imaginary conversation
between the apostles after the Last Supper. Contrary to the Gospels,
it supposed that Mary Magdalene had been present at the event, and it
was agreed that the reason why Jesus had not passed any wine to Mary
at the table was because he had seen her laughing! On the basis of
this extraordinary, fictitious document, the bishops ruled that, even
though Mary might have been a close companion of Jesus, women were
not to be afforded any place within the Church because they were not
serious! But why has this sexist attitude persisted within the Church
to the present day? Because Mary Magdalene had to be discredited and
removed from the reckoning so that her heirs could be ignored.

Notwithstanding the avid sexist movement, the Messianic heirs
retained their social positions outside the Roman Church
establishment. They progressed their own Nazarene and Celtic Church
movements and founded Desposynic (Heirs of the Lord) kingdoms in
Britain and Europe. They were a constant threat to the Roman High
Church and to the figurehead monarchs and governments empowered by
that Church. In fact, they were the very reason for the brutal
Catholic Inquisition because they upheld a moral and social code
which was contrary to High Church requirement.

This was especially apparent during the Age of Chivalry, which
embraced a respect for womanhood, as exemplified by the Knights
Templars whose constitutional oath supported a veneration of the
Grail Mother, Queen Mary Magdalene.

Prior to the Middle Ages, the individual stories of the Grail family
were historically well known, but when the Church began its reign of
fanatical persecution, the whole Nazarene and Desposynic heritage was
forced underground. But why did the vengeful persecutions begin at
that particular time? Because the Knights Templars had not only
returned from the Holy Land with documents that undermined the
Church's teachings, they also established their own Cistercian
churches in opposition to Rome. These were, however, not just any
churches - they were the greatest religious monuments ever to grace
the skylines of the western world: the Notre Dame cathedrals of
France.

Despite their present-day image, these impressive Gothic cathedrals
had nothing whatever to do with the established Christian Church.
They were funded and built by the Knights Templars in collaboration
with their Cistercian allies, and they were dedicated to Mary
Magdalene - Notre Dame (Our Lady) - whom they called 'the Grail of
the world'.

This, of course, defeated every dogma that the High Church had
encouraged, and the bishops retaliated by re-dedicating numerous
other churches to Mary, the mother of Jesus. But, in so doing, they
made a strict decree that all artistic portrayals of Mother Mary (the
Madonna) must henceforth show her dressed in 'blue and white only' -
so as not to grant her any rights to ecclesiastical office in the
male-only priesthood.

Mary Magdalene, on the other hand, was being portrayed by the world's
greatest artists wearing the red mantle of cardinal status, the black
robe of a Nazarite High Priestess, or the green cloak of fertility,
and there was nothing the Church could do about it. The bishops' only
option was to proclaim the practice sinful and heretical because, in
having previously elected to ignore Mary Magdalene and her heirs, she
was for all practical purposes outside their jurisdiction.

It was at that time that Grail lore was itself denounced as a heresy
by the Vatican. The 6th-century prophesies of Merlin were expressly
banned by the Ecumenical Council, and the original Nazarene Church of
Jesus became an underground stream, aided by such notable sponsors as
Leonardo da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli. In those days, the Church
policed and controlled most literature in the public domain and so,
in order to avoid outright censorship, the Grail tradition became
allegorical and its message was communicated by way of secret
watermarks, esoteric writings, Tarot cards and symbolic artwork.

But why should Grail lore and the prophesies of Merlin have posed
such a problem for the Roman Church? Because, within the context of
their adventurous texts, they told the descendant story of the Grail
bloodline - a bloodline which had been ousted from its dynastic
position by the Bishops of Rome who had elected to reign supreme by
way of a contrived apostolic succession.

This succession was said to have been handed down from the first
bishop, St Peter (indeed, this is still the promoted view), but one
only has to consult the Church's own Apostolic Constitutions to
discover that this is simply not true. Peter was never a Bishop of
Rome - nor of anywhere else for that matter! The Vatican's
Constitutions record that the first Bishop of Rome was Prince Linus
of Britain (the son of Caractacus the Pendragon), who was installed
by St Paul in AD 58, during Peter's own lifetime.

From the 1100s, the powerful Knights Templars and their cathedrals
posed an enormous threat to the male-only Church by bringing the
heritage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene to the fore in the public
domain. The cardinals knew that their whole establishment would
tumble if the Messianic descendants gained the upper hand. They had
to be crushed - and so the brutal Inquisition was implemented: a
hideous persecution of all who dissented from the rule of the bishops.

It all began in 1209, when Pope Innocent III sent 30,000 soldiers
into the Languedoc region of southern France. This was the home of
the Cathars (the Pure Ones), who were said to be the guardians of a
great and sacred treasure -a mysterious secret which could overturn
orthodox Christianity. The Pope's so-called Albigensian Crusade
lasted for thirty-six years, during which time tens of thousands of
innocent people were slaughtered - but the treasure was never found.
In 1231, the main thrust of the Inquisition (or Holy Office as it was
called) was instituted by Pope Gregory IX during the course of the
Languedoc massacre, and it was set against anyone who supported the
Grail heresy. By 1252 the torture of victims was formally authorised,
along with execution by burning.

Heresy was a wonderful charge to level against captives, because only
the Church could define it. The victims were tortured until they
confessed and, having confessed, they were executed. If they did not
confess, then the torture continued until they died anyway.

One recorded form of torture was to spread the victim with fat, and
then to roast him alive (upwards from the feet) over an open fire.
These savage persecutions and tortures were openly waged for more
than 400 years, to be extended against Jews, Muslims and Protestant
dissenters. But the Catholic Inquisition was never formally
terminated. As recently as 1965 it was renamed the Sacred
Congregation and its powers are theoretically still in force today.

Undaunted by the Inquisition, the Nazarene movement pursued its own
course, and the story of the bloodline was perpetuated in literature
such as the Grand Saint Grail and the High History of the Holy Grail.
These writings were largely sponsored by the Grail courts of France
(the courts of Champagne, Anjou and others) and also by the Knights
Templars and the Desposyni. In the course of this, Arthurian romance
became a popular vehicle for the Grail tradition. Consequently, the
Templars became a specific target of the Inquisition in 1307, when
the henchmen of Pope Clement V and King Philip IV of France were set
in their direction. The papal armies scoured Europe for the Templar
documents and treasure but, like the Cathar inheritance, nothing was
found. Nevertheless, many Knights were tortured and executed in the
process.

In all this, however, the Templar hoard was not lost and, while the
Vatican emissaries were searching, the treasure and documents were
locked away in the Chapter House Treasury vaults of Paris. They were
under the protection of the Templar Grand Knights - those styled the
Guardian Princes of the Royal Secret - who loaded the hoard one night
onto 18 galleys of the Templar fleet at La Rochelle. By daybreak, the
ships had set sail for various destinations - notably Portugal and
Scotland. The latter were welcomed, upon their arrival, by King
Robert the Bruce who, along with the whole Scottish nation, had been
excommunicated by the Pope for challenging the Catholic King Edward
of England. The Templars and their treasure remained in Scotland, and
the Knights fought with Bruce at Bannockburn in 1314 to regain
Scotland's independence from Plantagenet England.

Subsequent to the Battle of Bannockburn, Bruce and the Guardian
Princes founded the new Order of the Elder Brothers of the Rosy Cross
in 1317 - from which time the Kings of Scots became hereditary Grand
Masters, with each successive Stewart King holding the honoured title
of Prince Saint Germain.

But, why was it that King Arthur, a Celtic commander of the 6th
century, was so important to the Knights Templars and the Grail
courts of Europe? Quite simply, because Arthur had been unique, with
a dual heritage in the Messianic line. King Arthur was by no means
mythical, as many have supposed, but he has generally been looked for
in the wrong places. Researchers, misguided by the fictional
locations of the romances, have searched in vain through the
chronicles of Brittany, Wales and the West of England. But the
details of Arthur are to be found in the Scots' and Irish annals. He
was indeed the High King of the Celtic Isle and was the sovereign
commander of the British troops in the late 6th century.

Arthur was born in 559 and died in battle in 603. His mother was
Ygerna del Acqs, the daughter of Queen Viviane of Avallon, in descent
from Jesus and Mary Magdalene. His father was High King Aedān of
Dalriada (the Western Highlands of Scotland, now called Argyll), and
Aedān was the British Pendragon (Head Dragon or King of Kings) in
descent from Jesus's brother James. It is for this reason that the
stories of Arthur and Joseph of Arimathea are so closely entwined in
the Grail romances. Indeed, the coronation records of Scotland's King
Kenneth MacAlpin (a descendant of Aedān the Pendragon) specifically
refer to his own descent from the dynastic Queens of Avallon. King
Aedān's paternal legacy emerged through the most ancient House of
Camu-lot (England's Royal Court of Colchester) in a line from the
first appointed Pendragon, King Cymbeline, who is well-known to
students of Shakespeare.

By the 6th century, Messianic descendants had founded Desposynic
kingdoms in Wales and across the Strathclyde and Cambrian regions of
Britain. Arthur's father, King Aedān of Scots, was the first British
monarch to be installed by priestly ordination when he was anointed
by Saint Columba of the Celtic Church in 574. This, of course,
infuriated the Roman bishops because they claimed the sole right to
appoint kings who, according to them, were supposed to be crowned by
the Pope!

As a direct result of this coronation, Saint Augustine was eventually
sent from Rome to dismantle the Celtic Church when St Columba died in
597. He proclaimed himself Archbishop of Canterbury three years
later, but his overall mission failed and the Nazarene tradition
persisted in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and across the breadth of
northern England.

An important fact to remember is that the Grail dynasts were never
territorial governors of lands. Like Jesus himself, they were
designated guardians of the people. The Merovingians in Gaul, for
example, were Kings of the Franks - never Kings of France. King
Aedān, Robert the Bruce and their Stewart successors were Kings of
the Scots - never Kings of Scotland. It was this implicitly social
concept which the High Church found so difficult to overcome, for the
bishops preferred to have dominion over territorial kings who were
authorized by the Pope. Only by maintaining ultimate spiritual
control over individuals could the Church reign supreme, and so
whenever a Grail dynast came to the fore he was met by the wrath of
the papal machine.

In 751 the bishops managed to depose the Merovingian succession in
Gaul, and they established a new tradition whereby kings of the
Carolingian succession (that of Charlemagne) had to be approved and
crowned by the Pope. But the Church could never topple the Desposynic
lines in Scotland, even though the old Celtic kingdoms of England had
been dismantled by Germanic Anglo-Saxons from the 6th century.

Even into the Middle Ages - long after the Norman Conquest of
England - the Nazarene Church and the long prevailing cult of Mary
Magdalene were prominent in Europe. Women's rights of equality were
upheld throughout the Celtic structure, and this was an enormous
problem for the male-only priesthood of orthodox 'churchianity'.

The underlying principle of the Grail monarchs was always one of
Service, in accordance with the Messianic code. Hence, they were
kings and common fathers of their realms, but they were never rulers.
This key aspect of the Grail Code was perpetuated at the very heart
of nursery tale and folklore. Never did a valiant cardinal or bishop
ride to the aid of an oppressed subject or a damsel in distress, for
this has always been the social realm of Grail princes and their
appointed knights.

The Grail Code recognises advancement by merit and acknowledges
community structure, but above all it is entirely democratic. Whether
apprehended in its physical or spiritual dimension, the Grail belongs
to leaders and followers alike. It also belongs to the land and the
environment, requiring that all should be as one in a mutually
unified Service.

Throughout the ages, parliaments and governments have had as much
trouble as the Church in confronting the Messianic social code, and
the position is no different today. Presidents and prime ministers
are elected by the people. They are supposed to represent the people -
but do they? In actual fact, they do not. They are always affiliated
to a political party and they achieve their positions by way of
majority party vote. But not everybody takes the trouble to vote and
sometimes there are more than two parties to vote for. Consequently,
at any given time, more than half the people of a nation may not be
represented by the political party in power. In this regard, even
though a majority vote has been applied, the democratic principle
fails. What emerges is not 'government BY the people FOR the people',
but 'government OF the people'.

Jesus confronted a very similar situation in the 1st century. At that
time, Jerusalem and Judaea were under Roman occupation, with King
Herod and the Governor, Pontius Pilate, both appointed by Rome. But
who represented the people? The people were not Romans; they were
Holy Land Jews: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and the like. Apart
from that, there were large numbers of Samaritans and Gentiles (non-
Jews; the Arab races). Who represented them? The answer is 'no one' -
until Jesus made it his mission to do so. This was the beginning of
the Grail code of non-affiliated princely service: a code perpetuated
by the Messianic dynasts in their continuing role as people's
guardians. The Grail code is based on the principles of liberty,
fraternity and equality, and it was particularly apparent in the
American and French Revolutions, both of which discarded the lordship
of despotic aristocracy. But what has replaced it? It has been
replaced by party politics and largely non-representative government.

Many people have asked me why the hitherto suppressed information in
Bloodline of the Holy Grail is coming to light at this particular
time. The fact is that the information has never been suppressed by
those whom it concerns. It has been suppressed by outside power-
seekers who have sought to serve their own interests, rather than
serve the communities they are supposed to represent. Today, however,
we are in a new age of questing as many people grow more
disillusioned with the establishment dogmas that prevail. We live in
an age of satellite communications, sound-barrier travel, computers
and the Internet - so the world is effectively much smaller than
before. In such an environment, news travels very quickly and the
truth is far more difficult to restrain.

Also, the very fabric of the male-dominated Church and governmental
structures is being questioned, and it is generally perceived that
the old doctrines of spiritual control and territorial management are
not working. More and more people are searching for the original,
uncluttered roots of their faith and for their purpose in society.
They are seeking more effective forms of administration to combat the
all too apparent slide into social and moral decline. They are, in
fact, questing for the Holy Grail. This quest for new enlightenment
is considerably heightened by the coming new millennium and there is
a widespread feeling that this should also present a new Renaissance:
an era of rebirth wherein the precepts of the Grail Code are
acknowledged and practised - the precepts of liberty, fraternity and
equality. Indeed, Grail lore spells out loud and clear that the wound
of the Fisher King must first be healed if the wasteland is to return
to fertility.